


This Is Not Goodbye (I’ll Keep My Promise)

by Ravenia



Series: Yurileth (FE3H) [3]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Feels, Female My Unit | Byleth, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:33:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23024836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravenia/pseuds/Ravenia
Summary: “I’m not leaving you alone.”In another time and place, just before the war could end, a battle was lost. It is said in the tales to come that the tactician and her trickster sacrificed their lives for their allies, holding off countless enemies at bay until the Almyrans came to their aid.Centuries pass, and such tales are forgotten. Until now.A story of love, reunion and an everlasting promise. [AU, Fem!Byleth x Yuri]
Relationships: Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc/My Unit | Byleth
Series: Yurileth (FE3H) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1654786
Comments: 8
Kudos: 88





	This Is Not Goodbye (I’ll Keep My Promise)

**Author's Note:**

> I was just listening to this pretty song and muse just ran with it ;;
> 
> Also, I've now made my Yurileth fics an actual collection (I'm still planning more fics). Love y'all :)

**XXX**

_I'll say a prayer_   
_So that in my heart you always will be there_

_This is not goodbye_   
_I know we'll meet again_

**\- This is Not Goodbye, Sidewalk Prophets**

**XXX**

It was as if the heavens were crying.

Darkness and grey streaked across the sky, large rumbling clouds looming over dangerously and casting vivid shadows onto the muddied and blood-spattered ground. Flashes of lightning, interspersed with booming thunder and clashing swords played but a grim and macabre melody, a funeral’s anthem for the corpses of the dead.

Once magnificent buildings had all but crumbled, bearing endless amounts of damage. Large, gaping holes from ballistas and magical spells, ravaged beams and scorch marks deeply etched into the exterior. Used arrows were scattered amidst the pools and trails of blood and puddles from the rain.

As lightning flashed, it illuminated a swirling, deadly force of green and grey.

“Professor, no!”

A shake of the head sent mint green curls flying. “Get out of here!” Byleth shouted as she ducked another swing from an opposing axe and parried a blade, her feet digging into the ground from the force. Upon seeing more reinforcements emerge from the bottom of the mountain, her heart sank. A sense of helplessness started to creep over her, but the former mercenary forced it away.

_No._

“Professor -”

“ _Lysithea, this is an order. Leave!_ ”

“...Yes...Professor.”

She would die before letting them get to her students. The innocent.

The Imperial forces had more significant numbers than they had expected, numbering in the hundreds. Casualties had been fierce on both sides, but considering their overall numbers, it wasn’t looking good. Not at all.

“Need some help?”

Whipping around to see Yuri landing neatly beside her, his blade flashed like quicksilver as he decimated some Imperial soldiers in quick succession. An overwhelming feeling of relief and anger at his recklessness, mixed with touch at his concern and her love for him washed over her.

“You shouldn’t - ” her reflexes kicking in, Byleth slammed an elbow into an Imperial’s stomach, left hand twisting her blade to side and slicing the jugular of another on her left. “Be here.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not leaving you alone,” the Ashen Wolves leader parried a strike as he backed such that their backs touched each other’s. His voice held an underlying tone of grim resolve as he took in the enemies surrounding them. The odds they faced, the risk and danger that both of them were in.

He knew. They both knew.

His free hand reached out to squeeze hers, affirming a silent promise of their bond and unspoken words of feelings for each other that they already knew.

“One last dance?”

_“You’re asking me to dance? I thought you hated dancing.”_

_“Nah, I just hate those stuffy noble dances.”_

_The emerald-eyed woman resisted the urge to hit her lover._

_“Sure.”_

A soft smile crept across her face while her heart brimmed with affection and love for the man beside her. She squeezed his hand back affectionately.

“For you? Always.”

\----

**Excerpt from “The War, Pt III”**

_While the Alliance finally won the battle against Nemesis with the help of the Almyrans, two of their dearest allies were lost. Buying time for their own reinforcements, Yuri and Byleth struck down countless enemies, leaving only death and destruction in their wake. Historians later would call them the Ashen Hurricane._

_A memorial was held for the pair, and it was there that others would also speak of their love for each other and the bond they had which would endear them to many for the rest of time._

\----

**Centuries later…**

Slender arms pushed open the familiar double walnut doors, followed by gentle footsteps and the figure of a young woman dressed in a light grey top and blue jeans.

“Back again so soon?” asked Seteth in amusement as he caught sight of her. “I would’ve imagined that the pile you borrowed recently would take a week.”

Petal lips twitched, stifling a smile. “You have no faith in me, Seteth,” Byleth said as she allowed herself to relax. There was just something about the library that was so soothing. The scent of books both old and new, the faded covers, piles of vinyls stacked up neatly in the corners and various memorabilia decorating the shelves and walls.

It was if she was stepping back into a time where things were simple and cozy and warm, and she liked it.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it. I have to call Flayn.” Seteth gave her a quick wave and disappeared into the back, knowing that she was fully capable of taking care of herself and wouldn’t damage the books.

Letting her feet navigate the well-worn wooden floor, she allowed her mind to drift. She’d been having strange dreams lately, of wars and magic and death. Of being a former mercenary and then a professor. Leading an army.

But what stuck out the most in her mind was something else. Or more specifically, someone's voice.

_“I’m not leaving you alone.”_

Hence...research. Turning her attention back to the shelves, a frown crossed Byleth’s face as she scanned the book aisle.

World Philosophy, Ethics, Religion… no, no and no. Where was it? Was it…

“Ouch.”

Startled, she nearly stumbled. Slim-tapered fingers lightly grasped her wrist, pulling her up straight seamlessly. 

_Lavender_.

His eyes...his face...why did he look….familiar?

“You know, it’s rude to stare,” commented the stranger(?) before quirking his lips into a smile. “...’lethe.”

_That name...._

It was if a dam had unlocked after countless years, pouring out memories after memories. Her and Yuri talking quietly before the battle, the times they’d spent cooking together and fighting together. Having tea in her room, making plans for their future…

Their future that they had been robbed of.

“You’re late,” said Yuri as he saw realization dawning on her.

A quiet laugh escaped her.

“...I know.”

_He was here, and he was alive._

Time slowed to a trickle as she slowly, hesitantly stepped forward and lifted a hand to touch his cheek. Yuri watched her, unblinking while warmth cupped his cheek, while she absorbed the feel of him and the reality of what was happening dawned.

Exhaling, Byleth gazed into his eyes, searching for any hint of lies or deception. Anything that pointed out to it being fake or simply a dream.

_It was real._

“You’re not dreaming, ‘lethe,” He said quietly as he finally - finally moved, stroking the side of her jaw with his thumb. “ _We’re_ not dreaming.”

With a sob, she collapsed into him, burying her head into her chest and wrapping her arms around him.

_He was here._

_Her trickster was here._

Yuri let her, holding her close to him as he breathed in the comforting scent of her hair and drank in the sight of her - her mint-green tresses, lithe shoulders and slim athletic build. Relishing in the fact that they’d found each other, and that they’d have all the time in the world now. And nothing would change that. Not ever.

“We’re not leaving each other again. I swear it.”


End file.
